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Oldest commercials that air locally

C

charlestondxman

In Charleston, SC, there are several commercials which have been playing for what seems like a decade or more.

On the radio, still, several times a month I still hear an old Culligan commercial, with the "Culligan-Man" with a phone number that was probably taped when our area code was 803 or just after the change. It still uses Craig Shemon, who left eight years ago to go to Fox Sports Radio, as he was originally here.

Television, however, is a different story. Gerald's Tires, which is the big local tire store, with several locations, is known locally as being very cheap with their ads. Several times a week, I still see a commercial with these people talking about how they got to Gerald's on their first day in town, and about family matters. They use this very cute girl in a white skirt, who was 3 or 4 then, but is probably graduating high school this year.

The commercial still has the Carolina Wren on the state license plate, and shows a NationsBank ATM, even though it merged with Bank of America in 1998.

They also have a commercial with the song "Singing in the Rain", which is well known around the Charleston area, along with several catchphrases known around the region, like "Wheeeee! Just having fun!", and "It's not just a job, it's an adventure" which is still used even though it was popular around 1998.

Until maybe 3-4 years ago, they still played a commercial with this very cheesy late 80's production music ::), with old footage taped from 1987 or 1988. Strangely, they still kept the mention of their new location, even though it opened 12-15 years ago.

Another good old commercial is the local Mama, who does her used car commercials, and has been doing it for years.

Do you have any old commercials in your town?
 
There was commercial in Houston for Thunderbolt Transmissions that ran from roughly the mid-70s up until a few years ago, when it was finally re-shot.
 
Discount Tire Company !!

The one with the little old woman ( who I would imagine is DEAD now ) throwing a tire into the store shattering the glass. At the end of the commerical with the glass all spread out it spelled "Discount Tire Company".

I have heard that commerical was shot in the mid 70's and its still running today. I saw the ad the first time on WISH-TV 8 in Indianapolis way back in 1986 and I saw the exact same commerical on Denver's KMGH channel 7 as recently as two months ago.
 
In Chicago we have an ad for Victory Auto Wreckers, it's been running since 1981 and you can tell the from the style of the guys hair and clothes how old it is
 
mleach said:
Discount Tire Company !!

The one with the little old woman ( who I would imagine is DEAD now ) throwing a tire into the store shattering the glass. At the end of the commerical with the glass all spread out it spelled "Discount Tire Company".

I have heard that commerical was shot in the mid 70's and its still running today. I saw the ad the first time on WISH-TV 8 in Indianapolis way back in 1986 and I saw the exact same commerical on Denver's KMGH channel 7 as recently as two months ago.
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this one still airs in seattle
 
mleach said:
Discount Tire Company !!

The one with the little old woman ( who I would imagine is DEAD now ) throwing a tire into the store shattering the glass. At the end of the commerical with the glass all spread out it spelled "Discount Tire Company".

I have heard that commerical was shot in the mid 70's and its still running today. I saw the ad the first time on WISH-TV 8 in Indianapolis way back in 1986 and I saw the exact same commerical on Denver's KMGH channel 7 as recently as two months ago.
Click to expand...

I, too, first saw it in Indianapolis, probably mid-80's, if not earlier. It still airs, here in Raleigh, NC.
 
I didn't realize the Discount Tire commercial was that old, or that it was a national spot. Of course it airs in Phoenix, where the Discount Tire HQ is located, and where the commercial was shot. I didn't think that was really an old lady either. Looked more like someone in costume.
 
dhett said:
I didn't realize the Discount Tire commercial was that old, or that it was a national spot. Of course it airs in Phoenix, where the Discount Tire HQ is located, and where the commercial was shot. I didn't think that was really an old lady either. Looked more like someone in costume.
Click to expand...

Tim Conway & Ed McMahon aired the Discount Tire spot when they did "TV's Greatest Commericals" on NBC. That show aired in May 1982. Last time I saw the ad was in North Corlina a few years back and to me it looked like the same commerical that Tim & Ed aired on the special. My guess is the ad was made in ther late 1970's or very very early 1980's.

I wouldn't consider the Discount Tire commerical a national spot but more of a regional one since the chain doesn't have any stores north of North Carolina ( the Mid-Atlantic-Northeast-New England states ). No stores in Louisana, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri and a number of other states either.
 
Mark said:
In Chicago we have an ad for Victory Auto Wreckers, it's been running since 1981 and you can tell the from the style of the guys hair and clothes how old it is
Click to expand...

That's not a guy. That's a dude. As in, "Dude, your door fell off. This car is dead, call Victory and get some weed money, at least."

Then they show a picture of their yard, and it's got a '57 Cadillac, and other vehicles unlikely to be seen even in 1981.

I even think the dude has a proto-mullet. I wonder what became of the dude and if he gets residuals?
 
Maybe old local commercials are a small market phenomenon. In the Bay Area, the oldest seem to be the ones that run on the Comcast cable channels - usually decently produced, but fairly low budget. You know, local car repair shops, dentists, etc. But even those are generally updated every year or two.

Now if you're talking about the oldest commercial spokespeople, I'd have to nominate Glenn Hartzheim of Hartzheim Dodge, still shilling cars on air in his 80s after 4 decades on air. Come to think of it, I think Cal Worthington (not in the Bay Area) has logged even more years on air, and is just as old now.
 
In Winston-Salem, we all know "the smartest way to do your home work, is Allgood!" That jingle, maybe not the commercial, is pretty old by now.
 
That commercial is just about the only one in Charleston, but there's a couple others that are well known, like several lawyers in this town.

John Price, until a year or so ago, hadn't changed his commercial in probably a decade, and still used a scary scenario which was probably from the mid 1990s.

Lawyer George Sink ;D has also had several commercials which have stood the test of time.
 
In Milwaukee, its those ads for Emergency TV Service, which seem to be running endlessly since the 1970s. I get a kick out of it every time I visit my mother.
 
In Pennsylvania the state lottery runs a holiday commercial for its instant tickets that has probably been running every year since the mid-eighties.
 
I did not realize that that Discount Tire Company spot was so old! I only recently saw it for the first time! :eek: But I suppose that hubcap on the tire should have clued me in on how old the spot was! :eek:

The longest running commercial I can think of that ran on a national basis would have to be the Life cereal commercial with Mikey! It ran for 15 years, I think! :eek:

And there are others that haven't run as long, but have used the same slogans or jingles for many years. The Oscar Mayer wiener jingle comes to mind, as does "I am stuck on Band-Aid brand, 'cause Band-Aid's stuck on me!" Some of these jingles are timeless, and second, and maybe even third generations of kids are singing them now! :eek:
 
Just thought of one...not local, but the "Holiday Greetings from Budweiser" ad has been airing every holiday season (with a few minor tweaks, but still with Ed McMahon's voiceover) for at least 30 years.
 
I can name a national spot from the early 70's that (I THINK) still runs..."Mr. Turtle...How many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie Roll center of a Tootsie Pop?"

And yes, I saw the Discount Tire Co. ad just a week or so ago.

Edited to add: Regarding "Holiday Greetings From Budweiser"...Seems like they replaced Ed with George Clooney. Another Christmas commercial that comes back every year: The Folger's ad where "Petah" comes home and wakes everyone up with the mountain grown aroma of Folger's coffee.
 
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